It is well known that a smile is an important asset in life, yet it is often taken for granted. Whether you flaunt your all-natural teeth when you smile, or have cosmetically enhanced your teeth in one way or the other, a dental night guard may be solution you need to protect your teeth. A dental night guard is a device that is normally considered to be the first-line treatment for teeth grinding (bruxism). Often known as an occlusal splint, the dental night guard might cover just one row of teeth or both rows, depending on one’s requirements. The night guard is normally fitted to help reduce the clenching and grinding during the night.

It is normally worn at night to protect your teeth against potential damage by the grinding or clenching that is normally associated with a sleep disorder, the effects of stress, one’s irregular bite or two or more of the above problems. Wearing a night guard at night will significantly limit daytime bruxism, leading to an enhanced responsiveness whenever the teeth get into contact during any abnormal activity.

So how does a dental night guard work? A dental night guard will reduce your teeth grinding problem by:

• Relaxing your jaws, thereby reducing muscles spasms;

• Easing the tension that leads to a constant ache and alleviating constant headaches;

• Providing an alternative to your teeth to help prevent wear forces – Instead of grinding your teeth, you end up grinding your night guard;

• It also cushions the teeth, thereby preventing your teeth from damage due to the grinding or clenching action.

A dental night guard will not only protect your teeth against surface damage, gum problem and loose teeth, it will also help strengthen your teeth.

During daytime, it is important to note that the teeth are supposed to meet when you are chewing or swallowing. At other times, teeth should be apart and lips together. Teeth grinding can easily wear away the teeth surface, making them susceptible to becoming loose or painful. While upper arch (maxillary) devices are often used to treat the condition, a lower arch device can be recommended to a patient who doesn’t want to have a visible or noticeable device or if there is a serious gag reflex action with the maxillary device.

There are a number of materials that can be used to make a dental night guard, including hard and soft plastics or a combination of both. All materials are effective, although the hard night guards are less flexible and therefore, more likely to stay in place longer, preventing direct tooth on tooth grinding for a longer period of time. These types are generally more expensive than soft night guards.

A professional dental lab can also tailor a dental night guard for your individual needs. The dimensions and outline of your mouth are recorded and used to make a custom night guard. This is usually the best night guard because it provides the best fit and comfort.

You may have bought a one size fits all dental night guard previously, but what you may not know is that your teeth impression should be used to make the dental night guards for the best results. A professional lab can customize a night guard for you based on your teeth impression.

Quality dental night guards are quite affordable and you can easily avoid further damage to your teeth surface. They can also help protect your valuable investment in case you have undergone a dental smile makeover. With these devices, some change in the fit can occur over time. For instance, your dental anatomy may shift over the years and cause your dental night guard to not fit like it used to. Night guards should be regularly assessed and adjusted to ensure they are well fitting and serving their purpose well. Poorly devised or badly aligned night guards might not be able to solve the issue. Well-adjusted dental night guards will enable anyone with bruxism to lead a normal lifestyle, without having to worry about tooth wear or any other dental-related issues.

For your dental night guard to properly limit the issue related to teeth grinding, it is highly recommended to wear the device each night. Some patients will ultimately be able to stop teeth grinding over time and the night guard won’t be required. In order to maintain the night guard, it must be properly cleaned after use by brushing it and rinsing thoroughly.

How Are Dental Night Guards Made?

Teeth grinding, also called bruxism, is a serious condition that can lead to a number of problems like jaw disorders, jaw pain, earaches, and persistent headaches, to name a few. This condition affects people from all ages and the generally identified causes can be physical, psychological, or both, including:

A person with bruxism requires treatment. An immediate solution to stopping all the dental damage and health problems this condition causes is the use of a professionally made dental night guard. As opposed to the over-the-counter mouth guards, a professionally made dental guard will fit the patient’s mouth to the slightest detail, protecting the teeth and the jaw from additional pain and damage during sleep.
The way the dental night guards are fabricated guarantees their effectiveness due to the preciseness of the process the dental lab goes through, which also gives the patient not only the piece of mind of wearing a guard professionally made just for them, but also the comfort to have a good sleep without having to worry about the guard in their mouth.Here is the process to make a night dental guard:

Step 1: Impression Taking
This is a critical step to guarantee an excellent end result. A professional takes a negative copy of the lower and/or upper teeth in order to create a plaster cast from it. The impression gels have viscosities that capture the softness and hardness of the tissues. This cast or mold is used in a dental laboratory to create the custom dental night guard.

Once the impression is done, the next thing to do is to pour-up with a die hard stone, where all vestibular borders are captured. After the model is dry and hard, it is necessary to trim the excess stone to these vestibular borders in order to increase the guard’s retention thanks to surface adaptation. When the model is trimmed, now it has to be lubricated to allow an easy separation during fabrication. Once lubricated it is not necessary to lubricate it again.

Step 3: Fabrication
Now that the model is ready for fabrication, the process to follow is a method of bilamination by thermopressure, which allows the proper thickness of the surfaces of the dental guard. In this process, the trimmed model and night guard sheet is placed under a heater to soften the lamination materials. Right after this is done, the mold is ready to be thermoformed and pressurized. After this process, the mold is left to cool down before a second trimming takes place.
When the dental guard is ready, it is time to do a final finish and polish.

Pictured: A custom athletic mouthguard (thermoforming process)Step 4: Delivery
When the dental guard is ready it is delivered to the patient to try it and check it for fit and comfort. The guard should be stable and not cause any kind of pain or discomfort. Sometimes it is necessary to do minor adjustments, but this occurs in rare occasions. If everything fits perfectly, the patient also receives instructions for proper wear and care of the guard. A case is also provided to keep it when it is not in use.
Teeth grinding or bruxism can seriously weaken the teeth, cause chipping and high sensitivity. If it is not treated not only the health of the teeth is compromised, but the overall health and lifestyle as well.
A professionally made dental night guard can relieve the pain and discomfort caused by teeth grinding and jaw clenching. If the cause of these problems is related to the structure of the jaw or teeth, a dental guard is one of the best ways to correct these habits. What the guard does is helping the jaw to settle into a position that is more comfortable, which helps to avoid the grinding of the teeth and the clenching of the jaw.
Every case is different. It is important to speak to a certified dental professional to see if the use of a dental night guard is needed and what type of dental guard is more appropriate for a specific situation.